1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to microelectronic fabrication. More particularly, the invention relates to adsorbed molecular contaminant film measurement within microelectronic fabrication.
2. Description
The process of fabricating microelectronic structures, and in particular semiconductor structures, typically requires the use of a variety of materials and related process environments. The materials include wet chemical materials as well as dry plasma materials. Process environments include ambient environments as well as vacuum environments.
As a result of using multiple process environments, microelectronic structures are typically exposed to, or transferred within, process environments that may prove to be contaminant environments with respect to subsequent environments within which they are processed. The process environments provide for adsorption of molecular contaminants which are often particularly detrimental. They are particularly undesirable when they are strongly adsorbed or otherwise unable to be desorbed prior to a subsequent process that otherwise requires an atomically clean or chemically reproducible surface for subsequent processing.
Quantification of adsorbed molecular contaminants thus provides an important challenge within microelectronic structure and semiconductor structure fabrication.
Adsorbed molecular contamination may be quantified using any of several quantification methods. Included are optical ellispometry methods, thermal desorption methods and secondary ion mass spectroscopy methods.
While each of the foregoing quantification methods provides value within the context of adsorbed molecular contaminations determination, needs continue to exist for generally simplified apparatus and methods that allow for direct quantification of adsorbed molecular contamination. It is to that end that the invention is directed.